Neuromodulation with Brain-Responsive Music

For thousands of years, people have recognized that music can exert powerful effects on a person’s affect. For example, music can change our mood or improve depression or movement disorders. The effects of music, however, are often specific to an individual. Recent studies have shown that music interacts in powerful ways with the brain’s internal oscillations. This finding opens the possibility of designing music that is ideally suited to change an individual’s brain oscillations and produce acute or even permanent benefits. We are currently developing a closed-loop technology platform that can generate brain-responsive music, and will be testing it in the context of improving people’s sleep.